This program features a spectacular line-up of presenters who will unpack the key focus areas that you, as a Migration Lawyer or Agent need to know. The full spectrum of updates is covered including Partner Visas and Family Violence Provisions, the intersection of employment visas and employment law, Character Criteria & s501 Cancellations. Dissect the critical issues specific to immigration law & hear from an expert panel on AAT Practice Directions & the ethical issues that can arise in practice.

Presenters

Maria Jockel, Legal Principal and National Leader, Migration Services, BDO
Maria Jockel leads BDO’s Global and National specialist law firm which specialises in all aspects of Australian immigration law for corporate and private clients. She is a Law Institute of Victoria Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law and is acknowledged as one of Australia’s leading immigration specialists. She brings a unique depth and breadth of immigration law and corporate commercial -related legal experience from her years of practice. This is complimented by Maria’s former advisory and senior executive roles while in government service. Maria is a sought-after speaker and prolific author on all aspects of immigration and citizenship law. Maria is listed in “The International Who’s Who of Corporate Immigration Lawyers (2010-2023), “Best Lawyers” (2008-2023) and Doyles. Maria's immigration law practice includes employer nomination temporary/permanent residency applications, business skills migration, complex matters involving health and character issues, Federal Court applications, skilled migration, review applications at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal/Migration Review Division, citizenship, ministerial submissions, international education, the Educational Services of Overseas Students Act and the National Code, labour agreements, regulatory compliance, due diligence and related advices. In her current and former roles, Maria has contributed to shaping immigration law in Australia having advised on government policy and legal matters at State and Federal levels.


Marial Lewis, Principal Solicitor and Founder, Crossover Law Group
Marial Lewis is one of Australia's top immigration lawyers. She is an accredited specialist in Immigration Law by the Law Society of NSW as well as the winner of the prestigious 2021 and 2022 Lawyers Weekly 30 under 30 and the 2020 John Gibson Award - Young Migration Lawyer of the year by the Law Council of Australia. In 2022, Marial was listed in the Forbes list under 30 for social impact and was recognized by her international peers in the Who’s who Legal- Corporate Immigration Future Leaders and in the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for 2023- Immigration Law. Marial has also been a finalist in various national awards including, innovative of the year (individual), rising star of the year for the Australasian Law Awards and Women in Law, regional/suburban lawyer of the year and 30 under 30 since 2019. Marial is also a lecturer and unit coordinator in the Graduate Diploma of Australian Migration Law and lectures administrative law at UNSW. After many years in private practice including being a partner in a specialist migration law firm, Marial founded Crossover Law Group, a Newlaw migration law firm focusing on servicing private and corporate clients migration law needs by delivering a fast, efficient and transparent excellent service whilst using innovation, technology and new ideas for better delivery. Crossover Law Group has been recognised as innovative law firm of the year finalist as well as Newlaw firm of the year finalist in various awards. Marial is a passionate lawyer who works with a wide range of clients assisting them with their immigration legal goals and is an international speaker on migration law matters. She is also very experienced with complicated migration law matters such as refusals, cancellations, detention, character cases, review matters at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal as well as being a litigator in migration court cases.


Simon Jeans, Principal, Jeans Lawyers
Simon Jeans has been practising law since 1989. He is an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law and listed by Best Lawyers for Australia in Immigration Law. He has worked as an advocate for refugees and migrants with the Jesuit Refugee Service, RACS, Legal Aid (NSW), UNHCR and in his law firm. He was appointed as a member of the Migration Review Tribunal and Refugee Review Tribunal from 2010-2015. He was engaged by the College of Law in 2019-2020 as an assessor and external moderator for the Capstone Migration Agents Assessment.


Peter Papadopoulos, Member, Administrative Appeals Tribunal
Peter Papadopoulos is an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law. Since 2011, Peter has been included on the annual Best Lawyers list for Australia having been annually voted by his peers as one of Australia's best immigration and civil rights lawyers. Peter was admitted to practise law in 1996 after graduating with Honours in Law and Commerce at The University of Melbourne and completing his articles of clerkship at Arnold Bloch Leibler. Between 1997 and 2000, he worked as a solicitor at King Wood Mallesons and a Senior Associate at Gadens Lawyers. Between 2000 and May 2014, Peter ran his own specialist migration law practice in both Melbourne and Sydney. From May 2014 until December 2015, Peter was a Director of Global Immigration at Ernst & Young. Between January 2016 and October 2018, Peter was a Director of Nomos Pty Ltd, a business specialising in the provision of immigration law advice, advisory services and educational programmes. Peter is an expert in immigration law matters with extensive professional experience in advising clients both in Australia and abroad. He practises extensively in the field of migration law by assisting clients with their visa applications as well as handling merits and judicial review matters. He has also provided advisory services to government agencies in relation to migration matters and is regularly consulted by fellow practitioners and their clients to guide them in solving complex cases. He is a member of the Law Council of Australia's Federal Litigation and Dispute Resolution Section Executive and its Migration Law Committee, the Law Institute of Victoria's Migration Law Committee, the Australian Institute of Administrative Law and the Migration Institute of Australia. He has also served as Chair of The College of Law’s Migration Agents Capstone Assessment Advisory Committee and the Secretary to the Law Council of Australia’s International Law Committee. Peter is committed to pro bono work and has been an active volunteer solicitor at the Victorian HIV/AIDS Legal Centre, a chair at the Australian Society of HIV Medicine 2006 National Conference and a director of Metta Youth Limited, a non-profit youth organisation. Peter regularly presents seminars and workshops to Australian migration lawyers on various aspects of immigration and citizenship law and policy, having done so through his own business Migration Practice Essentials (MPE). Peter has also shared his knowledge by presenting migration law seminars on behalf of The College of Law, Law Council of Australia, Council of Australasian Tribunals, Law Institute of Victoria, Law Society of Western Australia, Australian Institute of Administrative Law, RMIT University, Migration Institute of Australia and Ernst & Young.


Kathryn Viegas, Director, Nomos Pty Ltd
Kathryn Viegas is a Director of Nomos Legal, a boutique immigration law firm in Sydney. Kathryn holds degrees in Psychology and Law from the University of New South Wales and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Australian National University. In 2006, she was awarded a Master of Laws degree from the University of Sydney. Kathryn is recognised by the Law Society of NSW as an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law. For the past 5 years, she has been recognised in the annual Best Lawyers list for Australia. Kathryn has been an immigration lawyer since 2003. She commenced her career at the HIV/AIDS Legal Centre and established her own practice in 2005, which she ran for eight years. In 2016, she co-founded Nomos. Since 2007, she has presented continuing education programmes for lawyers and other professionals through Nomos, the College of Law, the Immigration Advice and Rights Centre and other professional organisations. She currently teaches the Graduate Diploma in Migration Law at Victoria University. Kathryn is the current President of the Management Committee of the Immigration Advice and Rights Centre and the Secretary of Diverse Women in Law, an organisation that works with underrepresented women entering the legal profession. She also sits on the Specialist Accreditation Immigration Law Advisory Committee in NSW.


Ndi Ruppert, Principal & Founder, Ruppert Legal
Ndi Ruppert obtained her Bachelor of Business and Law with a Diploma of Legal Practice from the University of Newcastle in 2010 and was admitted to the Supreme Court of New South Wales as a solicitor in 2011. In 2017, Ndi obtained her Master of Laws from the University of Newcastle, majoring in Human Rights and International Business; her master thesis was published in the African Journal of International and Comparative Law. Ndi is the Principal Solicitor & Founder of the law practice, Ruppert Legal and was formerly a solicitor with Hicksons Lawyers. She also currently uses her immigration expertise to assist refugee clients one day a week through Mosaic Multicultural Connections. Ndi has significant experience with the Australian Migration system, both personally and professionally and was honoured by being listed on the 2021 and 2022 Doyles Guide list of leading New South Wales Immigration Lawyers. She is also the Vice Chair on the Board of the Hunter Community Legal Centre and is part of the executive leadership team of the Centre for African Research, Engagement & Partnerships at the University of Newcastle.


Rita Chowdhury, Principal, Integrate Legal
Rita Chowdhury is an award-winning immigration laywer. Rita is the Principal of Integrate Legal and has over 20 years of immigration experience. Rita was awarded the inaugural Lawyers Weekly 2016 Partner of the Year Award in the Migration category and has been recognised by Who's Who Legal in both the global immigration lawyer and Australian lawyer categories. Rita is a Fellow of the Migration Institute of Australia ("MIA") and an MIA accredited educator. Rita has led immigration practices at a large international commercial law firm, a big four accounting firm, and an international private client law firm. Since establishing her own boutique corporate immigration practice, Rita has become a sought after and highly regarded Australian immigration advisor. Rita's clients range from entrepreneurs and small businesses to large multinational companies. Rita is known locally and globally, for her responsiveness, high quality client service and technical knowledge. Rita has been published by leading legal publishing houses including Lexis Nexis, Thompson Reuters and CCH.


Simon Jeans, Principal, Jeans Lawyers
Simon Jeans has been practising law since 1989. He is an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law and listed by Best Lawyers for Australia in Immigration Law. He has worked as an advocate for refugees and migrants with the Jesuit Refugee Service, RACS, Legal Aid (NSW), UNHCR and in his law firm. He was appointed as a member of the Migration Review Tribunal and Refugee Review Tribunal from 2010-2015. He was engaged by the College of Law in 2019-2020 as an assessor and external moderator for the Capstone Migration Agents Assessment.


Karen Lo, Partner, Ajuria Lawyers
Karen is experienced in employer-sponsored work visas, general skilled migration and partner and family migration. Prior to joining Ajuria Lawyers, she worked in the then Department of Immigration and Border Protection, processing complex Partner Visas and worked for the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority investigating migration fraud.


Alex Kaufman, Partner, Longton Legal
Alex Kaufman is a practising Solicitor and former RMA with almost 20 years' experience in business, investment and employment related migration and the provision of associated legal services.